Kansas City Bicycle Log

Posts, email, and ideas related to bicycling and bicycle advocacy.



I post these mostly for my own convenience in being able to keep them archived and searchable, but if you get some use of them, more power to you!

Among other interesting items here is a fairly complete record of my involvement with the grassroots effort in support of the BikeKC initiative in the Summer of 2002.

You can find everything from press releases to letters to the city council to exhortations to other bicyclists to write letters to the editor. See what worked well and what caused us problems in the effort to pass BikeKC.

From my point of view, this was almost a picture-perfect grass-roots movement. The result was that BikeKC was passed on August 15th, 2002.

Now we have to work to make sure the plan becomes reality!

Most of that is in the 8/25/2002-8/31/2002 archive.

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?

RSS Feed

Sunday, October 06, 2002
My Bike Tour of KC Area Today
 
I had a nice tour of Kansas City this afternoon/evening.

I left Raytown about 4:30PM. North on Raytown Trafficway to Manchester-Winchester-Belmont Ave-West on Gladstone Blvd to Cliff Drive to Independence Ave to 5th St. to River Market.

I stopped at the new "Randy Niere Memorial" bridge--very interesting overlook of the river & riverfront, even though the stairs & elevator to the lower level aren't even open yet (the trail is supposed to be open next summer, I heard). You should stop & see the bridge/overlook if you're in the area. It's right at the end of Main (about 3rd & Main).

I discovered some very strange and wonderful things under the Broadway Bridge--stop & have a look if you're ever in the area. Also, I found two cobblestone streets in the general vicinity (I didn't know we had any of those left . . . ).

Then Woddswether to Ohio, across the Kansas River on the lower level of the Woddswether Bridge (under I-70). Then 7th Street (169) south across the river again, then west on Metropolitan, south on 21st street which somehow curves & becomes 18th street & then curves again as it goes under I-35 and becomes Foxridge. Then 51st Street (some nasty hills there--needed my new granny gear) to Elledge to 47th Street to Rainbow to east on Johnson Dr-Ward Pkwy-Volker-Swope Pkwy-Blue Pkwy.

I discovered that Blue Pkwy actually has some long sections with curb lanes wide enough to be easily shareable. Wo-wee! Maybe I'll ride that way more often.

Unfortunately, Blue Pkwy has some nasty narrow sections, too (bridge over the Blue River is very narrow, poor sight lines, and traffic moves very fast; and after the intersection with Coal Mine/Sni-a-bar traffic speeds up to well over 50 MPH and lanes narrow; then shoulders disappear--that's just when YOU want to disappear on your bike . . . ).

So, at this point I would have taken either Coal Mine or Sni-a-bar except that they are both under construction. So it was Eastwood Tffy to Eastern to 52nd Terr to Skiles to Byram's Ford to 57th . . . finally to 59th & then to the starting point at 59th & Raytown Trafficway. Arrived home at 9:00PM.

Altogether, Raytown to City Market to KCK to Mission to the Plaza & back to Raytown, total distance 40.2 miles. Lots of new areas I hadn't visited on bike (or any other way) & lots of fun!

--Brent

posted by Brent Hugh at Sunday, October 06, 2002 | permanently archived here

HOME